Kitsap County businesses, public agencies keep a wary eye on rising prices at the pump

Peiyu Lin, Kitsap Sun
·4 min read
As of Friday, the average price for regular gas price in the Bremerton metro area reached $4.726 per gallon, a jump from a month ago when the average price was $3.957, according to AAA.
As of Friday, the average price for regular gas price in the Bremerton metro area reached $4.726 per gallon, a jump from a month ago when the average price was $3.957, according to AAA.

Kyle Tomko has been providing taxi service in Kitsap for years and counts his customers as his friends. That makes it all the more difficult to raise prices to make sure the business' drivers can survive.

It's something he struggled with before gas prices began hitting record high prices in the state and across the country this month.

As of Friday, the average price for regular gas price in the Bremerton metro area reached $4.726 per gallon, a jump from a month ago when the average price was $3.957, according to AAA. The average retail gas price in Washington state rose from $3.98 on Feb. 28 to $4.73 on Saturday, according to GasBuddy. Prices at the pump in the U.S. have surged faster since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

"I felt we wouldn't have to make any changes and boy was I wrong," said Tomko, a night manager of A-1 Taxi in Port Orchard.

As of Thursday, A-1 has increased its taxi rates to $5 per pickup, $3 per mile and $1 per minute wait with a $10 minimum. That's a jump from $3 per pickup, $2.50 per mile and $1 per minute wait with a $6 minimum on March 1, according to Tomko.

The average retail price of gas in Washington state rose significantly from the end of February to early March.
The average retail price of gas in Washington state rose significantly from the end of February to early March.

A-1 Taxi never raised the rates in its first 10 years of service until last year, when the company saw a spike in maintenance and insurance costs, Tomko said.

"It sucks you know. I love my job, I love the people I pick up," Tomko said. "I know some of our customers might not be able to afford this, but if we don't raise the price then we won't have drivers."

"With no end in sight, we have to make drastic changes to make sure we stay afloat," the night manager said.

Drivers at Yellow Cab Co. of Kitsap County are paying at least $25 dollars more on gas per day. They have no choice but to absorb the extra costs, said Alex Ramirez, the owner.

"For the customer to go one mile, that's $5.20, so we can't charge them any more than we're already charging them, I explained to the drivers," Ramirez said.

Kitsap Transit, which relies on diesel to power its fleet, is paying more than $5 per gallon, which is 67% higher than the $3 per gallon the agency budgeted for 2022, Kitsap Transit spokesperson Sanjay Bhatt said on Friday.

If prices stay at $5 a gallon for a prolonged period, Kitsap Transit could spend $3 million more than the $4.96 million it budgeted for this fiscal year, according to Bhatt.

The agency has established a $2.9 million reserve for fuel-price spikes in its budget. If oil prices remain at current levels for longer than a year, Kitsap Transit may have to tap its general reserves or review spending slated for capital projects, Bhatt said.

"Yes, the spike in gas prices is taking a toll on our budget, just as it is on households," Bhatt said.

Being a large consumer of fuels, Washington State Ferries has a program designed to address unpredictable spikes in fuel prices and maintain consistency, WSF spokesperson Ian Sterling said.

WSF buys a certain amount of the fuels throughout its fuel hedging program, which allows the agency to negotiate the prices and purchase fuels up to two years in advance, meaning WSF won't be impacted much unless the price continues to be high for a long period of time, Sterling said.

"We buy a significant amount of it (fuel) that way, so we're pretty stable at the moment," Sterling said. "Unless prices go completely ballistic and stay that way for an extended amount of time...it shouldn't have any impact on ferry operations or to customers."

James Hike owns Hank's Grocery on Chico Way, which also sells gas. He said on Friday that he's noticed his customers' habits change to try to decrease their gas bill.

"People are starting to wise up and drive less, you know, doing everything in one trip instead of spreading it out," Hike said.

Visit https://data.kitsapsun.com/projects/lowest-gas-prices/ to find the cheapest gas in areas of Kitsap County, a webpage created by Kitsap Sun sourcing GasBuddy.

Reach breaking news reporter Peiyu Lin at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw.

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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Washington businesses, public agencies keep eye on rising gas prices